Tyrell told his uncle about alleged punch, court heard

Gold Coast toddler Tyrell Cobb told his uncle he had been punched in the stomach by his mother's partner, a court has heard.

Heidi Strbak pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence, but is facing a contested sentencing hearing because prosecutors allege she was responsible for the blunt force trauma that caused her four-year-old son's death.

Her brother Danial Allan testified in the Brisbane Supreme Court his nephew told him shortly before he died on May 24, 2009, he had been punched in the stomach by Strbak's then-partner Matthew Scown.